This release includes both acquired portal technologies as well as homegrown capabilities that Oracle has built, and brings it together into one unified and converged product, says MacMillan. "This isn't merely bolting those features on to WebCenter. This is really refactoring those code bases; in some cases, bringing the features in and having them written natively in WebCenter. But it is really the best of the best from across the portal technology that we had, in a common set of use cases, a common technology, and a common product."

For example, MacMillan notes, the portlet container has a heritage in WebLogic portal [from BEA] but it is now part of the native WebCenter product. The analytics from Plumtree [from BEA] are now part of the product, which means you can do analytics on things that are in the portlet container, so you start to see the relationship between why these features and how they provide additional value when they are in a common platform and integrated together as part of a common product."

In addition to converging those features, says MacMillan, "We've also extended them." It is not just taking a feature out of a product as it existed a year or two ago, but also adding to and enhancing those features as part of this converged platform, he emphasizes.